Oil prices rise but remain below $100 per barrel, waiting for US-Iran negotiations over the weekend

On the eve of U.S. -Iran negotiations this weekend, oil prices rose but remained below $100 a barrel. Emmanuel Belostrino, head of global crude oil and geopolitical market data at Kpler, said: "The outcome of the negotiations, especially whether a viable ship traffic agreement can be reached, is a key variable in determining whether the current backlog can begin to ease."<br /> In early European trading, the U.S. and Brazil-based oil prices continued to rise in the short term and are now reporting US$99.7/barrel and US$97.6/barrel respectively. Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz remains basically frozen, and supply interruptions keep the market tight. Iran's attack on Saudi Arabia's current main export channel, the East-West Pipeline, has reduced the pipeline's transportation capacity by approximately 700,000 barrels per day.